Below are my mom's unedited thoughts on our trip to Bali... I just added some pictures. When Benjamin said he wanted to take me somewhere for my birthday I was so happy, and when we decided on Bali I thought “wow!” and just couldn’t believe it. When he mentioned the Amandari and Amankila resorts, I…
Continue reading: Mom’s Bali Birthday Bonanza: Mom’s Thoughts
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
What a lovely perspective from Mom! So cosy and so interesting! Good job Ben and Mom!
Was I the only one reading this as a thick German accent and replacing Benjamin with Benny?
Dear Mrs. Lucky, Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. I, for one, am glad to have listened in on your vacation with your son. I once took my Mom and Aunt to France. You can't imagine the joy I have from that trip now 13 years later --- watching them start the day wearing closely matched well coordinated outfits. They too over packed. I'm sure Ben will remember this trip forever.
Great review from you mom, Ben! It sounds like she really enjoyed the trip!
Wish I can do the same for my mom one day. 🙂
Careful Ben. She might replace you on your trip writing 😉
Always neat hearing it from a perspective from someone who doesn't fly and points like we do and travel with someone who does.
Bravo Benjamin 😉
Benny's Mom,
Thank you for such a great report. Benny helped me and my wife last year with the same trip, and we loved it!
I like the advice you gave. But do you really think a mother will listen to a son's advice on packing :)! I hope Benny took to heart your suggestion of less connections next time.
I look forward to your next trip report. Please make sure Benny spends more of his miles on you in the coming years.
Sam
Thanks for writing this report Mrs. S.(simply terrific!) - you both are truly "Lucky" to have been able to take this trip together.
Ben - methinks your mom could ghost-write for you when you're swamped 🙂
Am sure you'll both treasure the memories of this trip for years to come.
Mommy Lucky, I loved reading your thoughts on this whole trip and hope you and Lucky will go on at least one more trip (India/Nepal/Bhutan, perhaps?) together.
You're quite adventurous! My mom would never go on a white water rafting trip nor even swim in a pool!
Wow, what a wonderful thing to read. Thank you so much for sharing this. I am about on embark on a 3 week adventure with my own mom around Italy and Greece and I hope it goes as well! I sent her the link to this blog so she can read it, too.
Good post.
It's always fascinating to me when I'm with someone experiencing things like this for the first time. It made be old hat and routine to us but when you're with someone experiencing it for the first time it kind of takes you back to your first experience.
Mommy Lucky - great to read your thoughts. You are very welcome to my country, India - am sure you will love it there.
This is a very touching story. Lucky is a great young man and a wonderful son. Thanks for sharing your thoughs with us.
What a wonderful trip report, it is raw and yet so honest and pure.
Thank you Benny's mom for taking time to write this.
Looking forward to read more of this in the future.
Ben, are you going to ask your dad for hid trip report also :)-
A nice read with insights to the places visited. I'll remember the spider/crab story from Bali.
I wish I had resources and opportunity like you to take my parents travel abroad when we were younger. But there were no miles and points to redeem for travel two decades ago where we lived. It is harder to travel with the elderly people, due to health @ endurance issues, food/ weather reactions, medications, etc...Next year, my mom and daughter will be in five continents in the world and I six so far, except Antartica. Hopefully, they will visit Africa with me in the next two years. Countries in India sub-continent will not be on my must-see countries list to visit. When I lived in Kuwait for three years in early 1990s, I did not have pleasant experiences encountering with people from that region. A professor once summed up his visit in India to me " Being inside the restaurant is the first world environment, stepping outside is the third world slum." I hope your mom will be well-prepared to fulfill her wish. You may need another reliable assistant with you on the trip to conquer the unexpected.
Great to hear from you!! And you are right, Ecco or Mephisto shoes are wonderful for traveling. Well worth the extra $$$
Joseph Seibel are great too. ( I am not a Birki kind of guy).
Move over OMAAT and let's say hello to "Traveling with Mrs Schlaeppig!"
I enjoyed the report, Mrs. Schlappig!
One thing, though, in your son's defense, he booked the minimum possible connections. Unless you had driven to Atlanta, there are no one stop connections to Bali from Tampa. You must make two connections.
Wow. I'm impressed your mom made it on those steps from hell down to the Ayung river in Ubud. 550 steps? That's conservative! Me and my family were sore the next day going up and down those stairs - but what a beautiful raft ride. I could have gone another 2 hours down those light rapids and that lazy river!
Thank you for your report, Mrs. S.!
@ Lucky - suggestion: if you are bringing family or friends on your trips, they should contribute a report like this to give another perspective 😉
Great finale to the trip report to get your Mum's perspective, Lucky - nicely done both of you!
Thank you for taking the time to write this report Mrs.S. It was very enjoyable reading it. Maybe Boarding Area has room for a new blogger?! You have a great son and are rightfully very proud of him.
It is interesting how Mrs. S is much more impressed with the hotel and how relaxing it was and much less with the first class cabin or the lounge.
Ben usually spends much more time describing in details the lounge and the cabin/service on board and much less about the places he visited.
This is actually a great balance.
Mrs. S can describe the places they visit and
Ben can continue writing about the flight/lounge.
Mrs. S - I loves reading your post and hope there is more to come in the future!
This post seems very Mom-like and by that I mean wonderful! I like how she calls you by your full name, Benjamin.
Funny story about the spiders/crabs!
Between the travels with Dad and now this set of posts, you've creatively invigorated the blog. What will you do for an encore?
Similar to Colleen's observation, I hope Mom had a twinkle in her eye when she suggested backpacking with you. Can you picture the luggage cart? 😉
This is great. I have never loved my husband more than the day he suggested we bring my mother along to Easter Island. Travel with parents is a whole different world, and such a funny role reversal. My mom was very worried about being lost or left behind, and we had to make sure she knew what to do. I can't wait to bring her somewhere again soon!
Loved this post! The only question is where are you bringing Mom next. We just went on a five night trip to Paris with my mother and my two aunts who range from 75-85. It was magical.
I realize your Mom must be much younger!
I've taken family members on many amazing trips (the biggest was taking everyone to Africa on a safari), and can only hope they liked it this much. So nice to hear her perspective, and love the "spider" story!
Loved her post. Too bad that you didn't include a photo if a family and their rabbit on a moped. What a great visual! I'm going to read it again with a German accent. Let's hear more about those shoes, too. 😉 lovely!
@wwk5d, nope, not the only. I did the same thing, no matter how hard I tried not to. 🙂
Wonderful write up, I have loved reading the trips from both of your parents perspectives (reading the blog from back to front)
I am taking my partner's mother with us in the next few weeks on vacation.....Iceland, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Austria and Hungary. Hopefully she enjoys it as much as your mother did!!! Although I'm sure the Intra Europe Business class will become tiresome!!!
I loved reading from the perspective of your mother and it shows that maybe we all are too obsessed with points, lounges and travel classes. It shows here that the best redemption is for a trip that you'll never forget - not just which seat you sat in to get there!
I have been inspired to take my mother for my next amazing trip.